‘A really proud moment’: Why Saturday’s game meant so much for Gamecocks’ Josh Vann
Josh Vann couldn’t help but whisk away the tear that formed in his eye.
Stepping before a computer screen buried somewhere in the underbelly of Dowdy-Ficklen Field after South Carolina’s 20-17 win Saturday over East Carolina, Vann looked into the postgame interview webcam, flush with emotion, and attempted to break down his ebbing-and-flowing college career.
There are the “distractions” at home, which quarterback Zeb Noland loosely referenced earlier. There’s the hype he arrived with as a blue-chip recruit that he hadn’t lived up to. There’s the three different receivers coaches he’s worked with since he arrived in Columbia.
There’s plenty there. Vann kept it succinct.
“It’s a really proud moment for myself,” he said through a bated breath. “I shed a couple tears after the game ‘cause I’m just thankful. That’s really it — I’m just thankful.”
On a day in which the offense was sluggish at best, South Carolina turned to Vann and converted quarterback Dakereon Joyner to play heroes as the Gamecocks clawed through Saturday’s rock fight with the hometown Pirates.
Vann, who came to South Carolina as a highly-touted four-star recruit, hasn’t recorded more than 19 catches in a season. Through two games this fall, he’s already corralled seven passes — including five for 91 yards on Saturday — in a refurbished look for a player who in recent years hardly crept close to the expectations he arrived with.
Prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, Vann sheepishly conceded his attitude hadn’t been the best in recent years. He expected to play early. When his reps became sporadic, he struggled to maintain positivity.
Saturday, all he could do was smile.
“(I) just (wanted) to show the world that I’m a guy that can be depended on,” Vann said. “I don’t really listen to the media much, but I know people say our receiver room is unproven. Being able to show the world what I’m capable of as a player and what this offense can do is really game-changing.”
Scampering into the open field off a dart from Noland, Vann weaved through the ECU defense and leaped toward the goal line. The ball was pried free and sputtered through the back of the end zone for a touchback. Possession: ECU.
Rather than sulk or sob after the play, Vann returned with a vengeance.
Dropping deep into the pocket, Noland flung a pass 45 yards down the South Carolina sideline. Racing underneath the lofted throw, Vann beat his defender by a step and corralled the deep ball.
One play later, Noland again flipped a pass Vann’s direction. For 23-plus yards, it hung in the air. Again, Vann raced under it. He tapped his toe. The referees signaled touchdown. The Gamecocks celebrated the score. The replay booth said otherwise.
“Definitely,” Vann laughed when asked whether he thought he made the catch. “I don’t know what the ref saw.”
Joyner, like Vann, was a high school standout who had offers from just about everywhere. He could’ve chosen any number of blue blood programs coming out of Fort Dorchester High School. He chose the Gamecocks.
Having split time at quarterback during his time at USC, Joyner fully transitioned to receiver this offseason. Coaches have lauded him for his leadership qualities. The athletic acumen that made him a force at the prep level would finally show.
That manifested to zero catches and two drops in last week’s win against Eastern Illinois.
Saturday, though, was different.
After Vann’s touchdown was called back, Noland dipped back into the pocket from the ECU 13-yard line. Joyner crossed the formation from right to left, navigating the sea of Pirates swarming the center of the field.
On paper, Joyner was supposed to run his route in front of the linebacker that confronted him on the “P” in “Pirates” painted into the end zone grass. Instead, Joyner peeled behind the defender, found a soft spot and Noland lofted him a dime for the Gamecocks’ game-tying touchdown with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“That was a really, really, really solid route,” Noland said. “He was supposed to cross that linebacker’s face. ... He did a great job of filling it out and knowing that I was going to want to throw him a high ball.”
South Carolina’s offense faced its fare share of flaws Saturday. The offensive line blocked East Carolina with as much resistance as a matador, side-stepping and shuffling around as the Pirates smothered Noland incessantly.
Noland wasn’t his best either. Twice he and tight end Jaheim Bell dealt with miscommunication. The first time, it resulted in an interception.
The former Iowa State and North Dakota State quarterback finished the day with a solid stat line: 13-of-21 passing for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But it wasn’t the same sharpness he flashed in Week 1.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Shane Beamer’s face gleamed with excitement when asked about Vann. After all, he and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield have spent months adding steam to Vann’s hype train.
“I just love what he’s about right now,” Beamer said. “He’s a special young man. Just so proud of him off the field, where he’s come from when we got here to where he is now. “
Beamer and the rest of his coaching staff promised an improved Vann and a crisper Joyner in 2020. Saturday was just one game in a slate that has 10 contests remaining. It might be an outlier. It might not be.
For one afternoon in Greenville, North Carolina, though, Vann and Joyner looked as advertised.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 7:12 PM.
